Is the cake lady responsible for the topper falling off?

Here is a picture of our cake:


http://www.cakedot.com/2008/Ruby680Engle...





Our topper fell off, broke %26amp; some of the cake fell with it! This was after it was set up at the reception but before the wedding party arrived. Fortunately, my aunt is great with super glue %26amp; tape, lol! She put the topper back together %26amp; rearranged the flowers on the cake so that all looked well by the time we arrived.





But I don't know if I should mention it to the baker or not? I don't know what I would even gain from bringing it up to her. I realize she is not in control of what happens when the cake is set up %26amp; she leaves. But the fact that the topper only stayed on for less than 2hrs really upset me.





Actually, I am pretty upset about the entire cake ~ it was supposed to be blue %26amp; ivory ~ but as you can see, it is barely blue %26amp; the icing looks white to me. Oh well...





What do you all think, should I just let it go?

Is the cake lady responsible for the topper falling off?
You could let her know in a nice way about the cake topper. You could call her up or stop by (to show her a picture of you and hubby cutting the cake etc) and let her know.


You: "Oh, I almost forgot. If you ever do another cake like mine with the same kind of topper on it you might want to do it a little differently. Ours fell and broke before we got there but lucky for us my aunt was able to fix it. I'd sure hate it if something like that happened to another bride and she didnt' have a talented aunt like mine! %26lt;big smile%26gt; I don't know that I would say anything about the color. It won't change it and I doubt if she'll give you a refund. You can let her know about the cake topper though and this way won't make her defensive.


Sorry it happened to you.
Reply:If you can find out what the circumstances were when the topper fell, that would be good. Ie, did someone barely bump the table, or did someone slam into it, or was it not even touched? That would be a huge factor. If no one was near it and the topper slid off - that is NOT good. If someone slammed into the table, it's a little more understandable. That said, if I was the cake lady, I'd want to know either way (so hopefully it won't happen again!). Just be nice about it. :)





Your cake looked beautiful by the way.
Reply:Yes, she should be informed. It may not be her fault, since the fall happened after the cake was set. It could have been a careless waiter, a hyper child guest, or even the wind. You just can't be sure if the topper was not reasonably secure, or was pushed beyond the limits of any topper.





But yes, you should followup with her to let her know what happened. Don't blame her for what happened, but suggest that she research ways to secure toppers more firmly so this doesn't happen to other clients (and ultimately, hurt her business).
Reply:I would talk to her about it. It doens't seem that the topper should fall off like that. After all, it's not going to hurt if you talk to her and if nothing else you can voice your opinion and maybe she'll have an answer for what happened, maybe you'll get a discount or something.
Reply:Let it go!





Your cake looks beautiful... like the other poster said (I gave you a thumbs up), you were the only one who knew what it was supposed to look like. It looks awesome to me.. in fact how much did it cost you? Because I would order this cake if I saw it.





BTW did it taste good? What was the flavor???
Reply:You never know what happened in those two hours between her leaving and you arriving. Someone could have bumped it and not told you. I wouldn't bring it up now. Its all over and the cake was beautiful. Don't stew over a little set back like that! Congrats!
Reply:If it makes you feel better you can mention it. You don't have to sound like you are accusing her, but you can just tell her so she knows. Maybe she needs to change how she does her toppers.
Reply:She is ultimately responsible. You paid her to make your cake beautiful to enhance your perfect day so it's all part of it.
Reply:Let it go! It's over, you're married! Someone could have bumped the cake and caused the topper an cake to fall.
Reply:Well.. your cake still looks good.





ღღღ
Reply:look at your contract and see what is states about this
Reply:If she left and everything was set up and had not fallen, then no she cannot be blamed.


There are many things that could have been just natural occurances, maybe the room was a little too hot or humid and made the icing melt or slide, which is in no ones control. Maybe the topper just was not made to sit on a round cake and didn't have a good grip.


Either way I would just be thankful it was all fixed and looked fine when you arrived. With my luck it would have happened 5 minutes before guests got there and the entire cake table would be on top of the cake!
Reply:hehe, thats the topper I picked too! I love that one...anyways, yes, I think she is responisble. It happened before the party even started. She needs to make sure that her cakes are strong enough to stand the weight of a cake topper! Also, if the cake wasnt the colors you wanted, thats also on her. If you gave her a picture or something of the colors that you wanted, it should have turned out the way you wanted. I dont know if you will gain anything but at least she will realize what happened and maybe prevent it from happening in the future. You aunt is wonderful for her quick thinking!
Reply:As far as the colors go, it does look to be a very light blue and white, but if you were not specific about your colors (such as describing them in detail or providing a color swatch) I would not mention this. I am a baker and cake decorator for a coffee house and catering company, and I often prepare cake orders that want pink frosting (is this pale pink, medium pink, hot pink, etc.) or say "I don't care what decorations you make, just make it look nice." What looks nice to me and color interpretation is subjective.....if you are not specific in what you want, you may end up with a surprise.





I don't know how else she could have attached the topper onto this cake without the support for the topper being obvious, because of the design (off center cakes) that was used. If this was a design that you chose and took in to your cake designer to create, it could just be a trial and error thing that you *could* mention to her. If this was a style you selected from the decorator's portfolio, I would definitely mention it to help her create that cake in the future. ("I don't know if the cake was moved or bumped, but less than two hours after set up, the cake topper fell off and damaged part of the cake. I just wanted you to know this for when you decorate this type of design again.")





Either way, I think the cake was beautiful, and I hope it tasted as good as it looked!





Congrats!


~ Maria
Reply:I would maybe mention it to her, but it probably wasn't her fault. Just don't make her feel guilty. When I got married, everything was going absolutely perfect, then my sister called from the reception hall. She was there to finish decorating before the wedding. She said the top tier of my cake slid off and took the icing off the other two layers as it slid down them. She put it back on, fixed the icing as best as she could, turned the damaged part toward the wall and nobody even noticed. It was an extremely hot day (July) and the hall hadn't turned on the air conditioning yet. The reception wasn't until evening and the cake was delivered and set up in the late morning. It just wasn't a big deal to me and really wasn't anyone's fault and that was the only thing that didn't go perfectly that day.


Your cake was beautiful and if it tasted good, I don't think I would dwell on it.
Reply:Let it go.





My cake was supposed to be a bright blue and it was a dull blue. The marzipan stars were supposed to be large and randomly placed but they were tiny and looked like the Big Dipper.





I spent extra money to have a bunch of lillies fill in between the layers. I paid for 20 lillies and there was only 6 on the cake.





I saw the cake and had a hot second of "Oh my god the cake is wrong, wrong, wrong."





Before I could complain to anyone I realized that not a single person besides me knew what color the cake was supposed to be. No one knew what the stars were supposed to look like. No one knew how many flowers were supposed to be on there. So I ignored it and enjoyed it for what it was.





If I showed you a picture of my cake you would say, "Wow, that is so pretty." You wouldn't know the things that were "wrong" with it.





The same thing goes for your cake. Your cake was awesome! I love how the layers lean.





None of the guests knew what was wrong so it is best to let it go and revel in the good memories - they always make the bad memories not seem so bad.
Reply:if the colours weren't what you wanted then you should bring it up. i must admit looking at the photo i don't see any blue.


as for the topper falling and the cake being damaged i would mention it but in a way that wasn't overly critical. for example:


i thought i should mention the fact that the topper wasn't affixed to the cake properly. as a result it fell, breaking the topper and damaging the cake. i only mention this to you so that you will be aware more effort is needed to affix the topper for another couple. that way they won't be as disappointed as we were when it happened


====================


if nothing comes of your letter then let it go, its not worth getting upset over. wishing you a very happy marriage.
Reply:My husband always tell me, what do you gain of fighting with people? The thing, its not i want to fight, it just upset me when people is not responsible and they just do things because they can, when they take advantage of others, when they dont do things as they should, etc. Im very just person and i want to be treated right way. And even i might not gain anything I gotta let them know whats in my mind, cause i hope they are embarrased of it and maybe get better. And to get an apologize!





If your cake was supposed to be blue and ivory and you talked that to her and paid for that, yes of course you should bring it up! I realize also that the topper fell might not be her fault... im sure she wouldnt have done that on purpose but hey... the color of the cake is something to be said.
Reply:The cake is absolutely adorable.....





It's just a cake and yeah, the baker isn't incontrol of what happens after the cake is set up and the 'oops' ocurs over an hour later...





I've a feeling that some one might have accidently bumped the table, without even realising it...and even if they did, no one is gonna 'fess up....





...and as a retire baker I can tell you that some colors, no matter how they are handled or how vivid they are, will fade over the course of a few hours....oranges %26amp; melons are notorious for it...and how fast and much they fade depends on the kind of icing..also, colors can bleed so one must always let the professional guide one in color selection.....


.I'll never forget the dame who wanted her money back on a cake we did the day after the celebration...her son graduated and she had a 'formal?' recpetion for him (high school?)..she insisted on a dark green trim (school colors, green %26amp; white) even tho we warned her that deep a color will stain...and yup, her guests had green teeth, tongues and lips-which disappeared with their beverages but she was livid...green teeth at a formal reception....but we warned her beforehand...and of course no money back....





So Hon, I repeat, it's just a cake..it's not your wedding or your married life...good luck.